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  • Gluteus maximus
  • Barbell
  • Intermediate

Barbell deadlift

The barbell deadlift works your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back, with your inner thighs, quads, and back helping. Start with 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, stopping with about 3 reps in reserve. To build muscle, do 2 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps.

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Video on the way

We film every move with real women. Until then, follow the steps and the 3 tips.

  1. Tip 1Bar close to your legs
  2. Tip 2Chest up, flat back
  3. Tip 3Push the floor away

Where you should feel it

In your glutes, hamstrings and along your back, which works to stay flat. The front of your thighs helps break the bar off the floor.

Main muscles
Gluteus maximus, semitendinosus and semimembranosus, and spinal erectors
Also working
Biceps femoris, adductor magnus, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, upper trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and forearms

How to do it

  1. Stand with your midfoot under the bar, feet hip-width apart, and grip the bar just outside your legs.

  2. Lower your hips until your shins touch the bar, lift your chest and set a flat back with straight arms.

  3. Take a breath, brace and push the floor away with your legs, keeping the bar close to your shins and thighs.

  4. Once the bar passes your knees, drive your hips forward until you are standing tall, without leaning back.

  5. Lower by pushing your hips back and, once past your knees, bending your legs until the bar rests on the floor.

Common mistakes

  • Mistake

    Rounding your back to break the bar off the floor.

    How to fix it

    Before you pull, lift your chest and tense your arms as if bending the bar. If your back won't stay flat, lower the weight.

  • Mistake

    Hips rising before the bar leaves the floor.

    How to fix it

    Your chest and hips rise together at the start. Think about pushing the floor away, not pulling with your back.

  • Mistake

    Bar drifting away from your legs.

    How to fix it

    The bar travels up and down almost grazing your shins and thighs. Long pants or socks protect your skin.

Sets and reps for your goal

GoalSetsRepsReps in reserveRest
Getting started2 to 38 to 12360 to 120 s
Muscle and definition2 to 46 to 121 to 31.5 to 3 min
Max strength3 to 53 to 62 to 32.5 to 4 min

Max strength (3 to 6 reps) only once your form is solid, always with 2 to 3 reps in reserve.

Reps in reserve: how many more reps you could still do with good form when you end the set.

Variations

Same movement, other equipment

  • Sumo deadlift

    Wide stance with your hands inside your legs. Your torso stays more upright.

  • Kettlebell deadlift

    One kettlebell between your feet. Great for learning the movement with a light load.

  • Romanian deadlift

    Starts standing and lowers only to around the knees, with your knees nearly still. More hamstring work.

At home or with more support

  • At home: deadlift with a backpack or kettlebell

    Place a weighted backpack or a kettlebell between your feet and do the same movement.

  • Prefer more stability? Elevated deadlift

    Rest the plates on blocks or the bar on the rack pins at mid-shin height. The range is shorter and the start is easier to get right.

Taken? Swap it for one of these

They work the same main muscle.

Keep exploring

Sources

  • Sets and reps

    Currier BS, D'Souza AC, et al. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2026;58(4):851-872.

    Full textPubMedDOI

  • Variations

    Escamilla RF, Francisco AC, et al. A three-dimensional biomechanical analysis of sumo and conventional style deadlifts. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000;32(7):1265-1275.

    PubMedDOI

  • Muscles worked

    Martín-Fuentes I, Oliva-Lozano JM, et al. Electromyographic activity in deadlift exercise and its variants. A systematic review. PLoS One. 2020;15(2):e0229507.

    Full textPubMedDOI

  • Muscles worked

    Delgado J, Drinkwater EJ, et al. Comparison Between Back Squat, Romanian Deadlift, and Barbell Hip Thrust for Leg and Hip Muscle Activities During Hip Extension. J Strength Cond Res. 2019;33(10):2595-2601.

    PubMedDOI

Review

Draft. This guide is waiting for review by a certified strength and conditioning professional.

Updated October 31, 2026